Montclair Denver Real Estate

Here are the details:

When: Monday, July 4th! Yes on the 4th! Past years have been on other days so its great that its actually on the 4th  : )

Time: 10:30am – 2:00pm

What: Festivities include the Annual Kids Bike Parade (a hoot to see!), games like the water balloon toss, and gunny sack race, live band playing Americana type music, a fire truck comes and opens the hydrant for the kids and adults! And of course great barbecue food!

Where: Montclair Park, Newport and Richthofen Pkwy

Bring: A blanket and beverages for your family– reusable containers are encouraged, as trash facilities are minimal

Cost: Free for HMCAI members, otherwise, $5 for adults and $3 for children (ages 3-10).

Event Schedule:

10:30am: Dixieland Express Band arrives; music starts!

11:00am: Bike parade for the little ones, age 0-5 yrs old

11:15am: Bike parade for the bigger ones, ages 6-12 yrs old

11:30am: Food service begins

12:30pm: Games begin & fire truck arrives

2:00pm: Picnic ends….

Attend this wonderful event, rain or shine! If you live in the neighborhood and want to become a member of the Historic Montclair Community Association, there will be a table at the picnic where you can get signed up. The cost is $20/family annually and $10/seniors.

This is truly an event to participate in– I don’t think there is another neighborhood in Denver that puts on such a wonderful old style 4th of July celebration.

See ya down there!

Deb Goetz, Realtor®, GRN

Denver Boulder Colorado Realty

Partner/Director, Business Development & Marketing

c: 720-628-9502

e: Deb@DenverBoulder.com

Denver Real Estate

Yes– the owners have decided not to sell at this time… However, if you are interested or know someone who is, please feel free to contact me. I can connect with the owners and see if they would still be interested in selling!

Yes, the Richthofen Castle is on the market– built by the Red Baron’s uncle, Walter von Richthofen, between 1878 and 1887. The castle is located in the historic neighborhood of Montclair. Asking price is $3.9 million but if a buyer would like the historic memorabilia, add $2 million to the price.

Montclair, a seemingly hidden higher-end neighborhood that a lot of people just don’t even realize is there, is a wonderful place to live– whether that be in a real castle or in another beautiful home in the community. This neighborhood, speaking as a resident and as a Realtor is like the perfect Americana historical neighborhood. As you stroll around the neighborhood, you can just see how this area came about. Stately old Victorian homes are meticulously detailed and maintained. The Tuberculosis homes, those with enclosed side porches, capture the story of why Richthofen came to Denver and built the historic Molkery Building, located in Montclair Park. He attracted folks from all over the U.S. whom had TB– the homes with the side porches allowed them to sleep outside at night, breathing in the favored Colorado clean air. And the Molkery once was considered a Spa for TB or other folks with lung disorders. Richtofen, from what I understand would only allow homes of at least 2 stories, preferably 3, to be built and on large lots. You will notice that the large Victorian style homes typically have smaller mid-century type ranches around them– obviously built at a later date when land could be sub-divided and sold. There is so much to see in Montclair and of course the castle is a huge draw for the neighborhood. I have some pictures in this blog– best to try to catch a glimpse of the castle in the winter time when the trees are bare… Otherwise, you have to try and get a good angle as you look through the front drive gates to get even a look at this beautiful enormous castle. The monument on this blog is located at Oneida and just south of Richthofen Pkwy– it once served as fountain for animals to drink water on one side and people to drink on the other during their long journeys.

Anyway– I love this neighborhood. My parents lived in Montclair back in the early 1960′s as my dad was stationed at Lowry Air Force Base. The neighborhood has fine higher-end homes and beautiful homes in other price points too. It is diverse in most every way.

If you would like more information about the Richthofen Castle, please call or send me an email. I am happy to send you what ever information you would like.

If you have any interest in selling or buying a home in Montclair (or surrounding neighborhoods) please feel free to contact me. I am passionate about Montclair Denver Real Estate and well, any neighborhood on the east side, and would love to help you live in the best part of Denver!

Deb Goetz, Realtor®, GRN

Denver Boulder Colorado Realty

Partner, Director of Business Planning & Marketing

c: 720-628-9502

e: Deb@DenverBoulder.com

www.DebGoetz.com

I have been wanting to add another post here but have hesitated as I don’t want the post about the Richthofen Castle to get pushed down the line! However, in order for you to find this blog I do need to enter a new post on a semi-regular basis so that google will find it for you. So this post will go under “Random Thoughts.” I have recently made a few changes– adding the links for searching not only Montclair but in surrounding neighborhoods. Many of the neighborhoods around Montclair offer similar character and charm and if someone is interested in buying in Montclair but doesn’t see anything of interest on the market, I often suggest checking out Park Hill, Crestmoor, Hilltop and Mayfair. (Lowry is awesome if you want new construction) I also added a Flickr link– basically, this link will allow me to offer more photographs on my blog and help me to organize them. See the link to the right– I made a “set” called “Montclair”. In the set you can view area homes, Montclair Park, (though there are actually 3 in the neighborhood!) the Castle, and a few pictures of the annual 4th of July picnic, which is a lot of fun!

Enjoy the blog and please call or email me if you have any ideas for this site!

And/or if you are thinking of selling or buying a home, in any of these neighborhoods or certainly any other parts of Denver, please feel free to contact me. I love what I do and would love to help you.

Have a great day!

Deb Goetz

Denver Boulder Colorado Realty

Realtor®, GREEN

Director, Business Development

720-628-9502

deb@debgoetz.com

A Series of 3 Workshops:
- Solar for Older Homes

- Bricks, Mortar and Masonry

- Restoring & Maintaining Old Windows

Saturday February 20th, 8:30am – NOON at the historic Molkery Building located in Montclair Park at Newport & 12th. $10 admission fee

For more information, go to: www.denversoldhousesociety.org

Come and learn from these local experts! I have lived in older homes and know I have been challenged by the maintenance of older windows… Making some contacts with companies who specialize in these areas will be very valuable!

As a recently designated GREEN Realtor, I plan to focus part of my business on assisting folks with retro-fitting their older homes with new energy efficient, people and environmentally friendly systems in their homes, so I am excited to learn about solar installation in older homes too.

I will have a table promoting my real estate services too! Please come by, enjoy the workshops and say ‘hi’! The spring market is starting off early this year due to the tax credits which expire April 30th. If you are thinking of selling and buying, let’s talk!
See you there!
Deb Goetz

Hi! I am getting alot of traffic to this blog and would love to know what YOU would like me to share on the site. Tell me what info about Montclair, the neighborhood, the castle, stats, etc… would you like to read? Please comment and let me know!  Thank you!

This is actually, or was actually built by Baron Von Richthofen as a watering fountain. Not a decorative fountain but to actually provide drinking water to animals, horses in particular, and people. If you visit the monument, you can read the copy that runs from left to right towards the bottom of the monument, just above the dirt in the photo. The large opening on this side of it held water for animals and on the other side, there is a drinking fountain for people to use. I will stop by and not only capture a new seasonal picture, (the city of Denver does a nice job decorating the fountain with flowers) but I will also write down this copy, if it is visible at this point. Montclair has such an interesting history!

Well, so it seems! I am actually surprised at how few people really know about this beautiful neighborhood. Which is fine by the residents! However, being in real estate, I am a bit puzzled. I am very familiar with most of the neighborhoods around Denver, have sold many homes all around, from Highlands in the NW to Lowry in the SE. And honestly, from a Realtor perspective, Montclair is honestly one of the nicest neighborhoods in Denver. I did do a post earlier on talking about the neighborhood so I won’t reiterate that content– I will say that Montclair (not Montclaire!) has held its value and then some during this dropping real estate market. Not too many neighborhoods can attest to that! I am happy to provide #’s on this, if anyone reading this is interested!

Is there another neighborhood out there in Denver like Montclair that hosts a neighborhood easter egg hunt? Okay, not just an easter egg hunt but really a neighbors chatting, kids running and searching for eggs all around the quaint and beautiful Montclair Park kind of easter egg hunt. I tell ya, this neighborhood has that yesteryear charm we all fondly recollect or think of when yearning for a community with the small town, American dream, sort of town.  Continue Reading »

This blog will be shaped by current residents of Montclair and anyone looking to move into Montclair. This is a great forum for potential homeowners to post questions, comments, etc. to the residents of Montclair and get answers! Sure, one can certainly ask their Realtor but no one knows a neighborhood better than a current resident. Montclair has folks who have lived here for several decades and new families taking root and starting their families here. They all take such pride in this beautiful, lush, friendly, diverse community. It is such a nice neighborhood, you hardly see homes for sale! True sign of a solid, good neighborhood.

Please share any history, facts, fun stuff, info, recipes, etc.!

Deb Goetz

Do you recognize the monument in the blog header? It’s in honor of Baron von Richthofen, one of the original founders of the fine Montclair neighborhood.

Neighborhood History from Wikipedia!

Montclair was originally developed as a small suburban community east of Denver. The land was purchased and developed by the Montclair Town and Improvement Company in 1885. One of its founders, Matthias P. Cochrane, originally came from Montclair, New Jersey and named the new community in its honor.^[2] The other founder, Baron Walter von Richthofen, was a German nobleman and uncle to Manfred von Richthofen, the celebrated World War I flying ace known as the ‘Red Baron’. The community was originally designed to attract wealthier residents who were turned off by Denver’s “400 saloons and forty Market Street bordellos”. ^[3] To this end, homeowners were required to purchase and build on lots that were twice the Denver standard size of 25 feet by 125 feet.^[4] Homes were required to be at last three stories high, made of brick or stone. In addition, town trustees had to approve all plans and saloons and alcohol were forbidden.^[5]

The community became the incorporated town of Montclair in 1888. In 1893, the crash of the silver market and the ensuing Panic of 1893 brought all development to a halt. Baron von Richthofen then began to promote the town as a health retreat, calling it the ‘Carlsbad of Colorado’. However, due to his sudden death from appendicitis in 1898, plans for a health spa, art museum, hotel, casino and pavilions never materialized. By 1900, the US Census recorded only eighty-eight families living in Montclair.

In 1902, the newly created City and County of Denver began to incorporate the town of Montclair. The town objected strongly to its inclusion and fought the City of Denver all the way to the State Supreme Court. Montclair lost and annexation was made final in 1903. Then-mayor Robert W. Speer eased the transition by beautifying and extending Richthofen’s system of parkways and boulevards from the central city into the suburb, planting many trees and erecting fountains and monuments. In 1907, the Montclair Improvement Association was formed to push the City of Denver into providing “graded, curbed, oiled and lighted streets, water and gas mains, a sewer system, parks and parkways and other services.”^[6]